tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:/feed/articles 2012-05-16T12:00:00+00:00 tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4386 2012-05-16T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-16T18:33:15+00:00 <p>On the eve of a series of public hearings on hydraulic fracturing, a controversial but little-regulated method of oil extraction in California, an industry group said today that its members will voluntarily post information about their "fracking" operations on a disclosure website, Frac Focus, likely by the end of June.</p> <p>The disclosure comes as Gov. Jerry Brown's administration, pressured by lawmakers, prepares to draft the state's first regulations for fracking, in which water and chemicals are injected thousands of feet underground to break up rock formations. Unlike some other states, California does not have special regulations for that method of oil production, and regulators say they do not know how prevalent it is.</p> <p>The Western States Petroleum Association said today that hydraulic fracturing was used in 628 of California's tens of thousands of wells last year by association member companies, mostly in Kern County. Those companies represent about 80 percent of oil production in the state.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4387 2012-05-16T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-16T18:08:45+00:00 <p>State officials Monday released a far-ranging "road map" for the Delta of the future, a complex web of strategies intended to save the estuary's ecosystem, secure its role as a source of water for much of the state and protect some of its unique attributes.</p> <p>Local officials have watched with concern the development of the draft Delta Plan for two years.</p> <p>Not only might the plan eventually include a peripheral canal or tunnel to divert water past rather than through the Delta, it also adds a new layer of bureaucracy that city of Stockton officials have warned could thwart the city's authority to plan its own orderly growth.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4388 2012-05-16T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-16T18:31:26+00:00 <p>Farmers within five water districts in central and southern California will see improved efficiency in their water delivery as a result of projects being undertaken by two federal agencies.</p> <p>The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Natural Resources Conservation Service are doing $5.3 million worth of district-wide and on-farm projects to save water and improve water management.</p> <p>The projects will be done in the Henry Miller Reclamation District 2131 in the Dos Palos area, the Firebaugh Canal Water District, the Tulare Irrigation District, the Rancho California Water District in the Temecula area, and the Central California Irrigation District in the Los Banos area.</p> <p>Reclamation will do projects such as piping or lining canals, while the NRCS will help farmers with installing materials such as buried irrigation tape or micro-sprinklers, said Kevin Clancy, a water conservation specialist for the Bureau of Reclamation here.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4382 2012-05-15T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-15T16:27:01+00:00 <p>California lawmakers on Wednesday took preliminary steps to increase the size of the state's oil and gas agency -- with the condition that regulators draft rules for hydraulic fracturing, a controversial form of oil extraction that some say can pose a hazard to drinking water.</p> <p>The lack of "fracking" regulations has been a sore point for legislators who have said that rules are long overdue for California, the fourth-largest oil-producing state and the birthplace of the modern environmental movement.</p> <p>On Wednesday, the Assembly Subcommittee on Resources and Transportation approved Gov. Jerry Brown's request for an additional 18 positions in the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources to step up regulation of the booming oil industry and eliminate a backlog of drilling-permit applications. Lawmakers, however, also set guidelines for fracking rules, adopting budget language that gives regulators until 2014 to finalize regulations.</p> <p>Mark Nechodom, director of the Department of Conservation, outlined a faster timeline, announcing that a series of public workshops on hydraulic fracturing would begin next week in Bakersfield and that draft regulations would be released this fall. (A tentative schedule is posted on the department's website.) He also said the state would commission an independent scientific study to assess the effects of the procedure, in which operators inject chemical-laced water and sand deep into the ground to break apart rock and release trapped oil and natural gas.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4384 2012-05-15T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-15T16:31:54+00:00 <p>The amount of plastic in the ocean area known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" has increased a hundredfold since the early 1970s, according to a new study, and the alarming findings could pressure California and other coastal states to do more to reduce plastic trash.</p> <p>"We were really surprised. It is a very large increase," said Miriam Goldstein, a Ph.D. graduate student in biological oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and lead author of the study.</p> <p>"Plastic had been detected in the open ocean in the early 1970s," she said. "People were raising the alarm then. The fact it has gotten so much worse is really disappointing."</p> <p>During an expedition in 2009, Scripps researchers took extensive water samples 1,000 miles west of California, then compared the amount of plastic they found with samples taken by other researchers dating back to 1972.</p> <p>While many of the samples 40 years ago found little or no plastic, vast stretches of the North Pacific are now polluted with billions of tiny pieces of confetti-like trash that comes from garbage that floats out to sea and breaks down in wind and waves.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4383 2012-05-15T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-15T16:29:54+00:00 <p>L.A. officials have bragged mightily in the past few years about how much water we're not using. Last year, Angelenos used less water per person than any other big city (1 million or more) in the country. But it seems the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is losing a little bit of its swagger where water conservation is concerned.</p> <p>In a news release LADWP says that "water use…has risen sharply since January." Senior assistant general manager for water, Jim McDaniel, is quoted:</p> <p>In 2011, our customers reached a per capita water usage of 123 gallons daily – the lowest in Los Angeles in more than 40 years and currently the lowest among any U.S. city with a population over one million. Still, even with this remarkable achievement, recently we’ve noticed water use on the rise and with temperatures climbing and summer coming, we’re asking our customers to once again take a look at their water use and see how they can use less.</p> <p>DWP and its customers accomplished that with a bit of a push. In 2009, the utility made water conservation mandatory, with sprinkler use limited to early mornings and late afternoons, no more than eight minutes at a time, three days a week. Water cops check to make sure you're not running water off into the street, too. But water cops can't be everywhere. And the problem of what to do with landscaping remains very real. The bulk of the recent increase? The utility says single family homes. Sounds like outdoor watering to me. (Multifamily residences went up too, but only by 1%.)</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4380 2012-05-14T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-15T16:22:53+00:00 <p>The powerful State Water Resources Control Board is getting some fresh faces.</p> <p>Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday announced his appointments of Felicia Marcus and Steven Moore to the board that oversees both water allocation and water quality protection in California.</p> <p>Ms. Marcus, 56, of Emeryville, has been western director at the Natural Resources Defense Council since 2008 and was executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Trust for Public Land from 2001 to 2008.</p> <p>She served as regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the western U.S. from 1993 to 2001.</p> <p>She has been a member of the Delta Stewardship Council since 2010.</p> <p>Mr. Moore, 45, of Sausalito, has been a civil and sanitary engineer at Nute Engineering since 2006 and has been a member of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board since 2008. He served in multiple positions at the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board from 1999 to 2006 and 1992 to 1996, including resources control engineer.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4385 2012-05-14T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-15T16:33:32+00:00 <p>The owner and operator of the Dubai Star, an oil tanker that spilled 422 gallons of thick, black bunker fuel into San Francisco Bay in 2009, will pay $1.96 million to settle the case with state and local authorities.</p> <p>Although the spill was relatively small -- the freighter Cosco Busan spilled more than 50,000 gallons when it hit a tower of the Bay Bridge in 2007 -- state officials said it still harmed the bay, wildlife and public recreation.</p> <p>"There's no such thing as a minor oil spill in San Francisco Bay," said Capt. Scott Schaefer, acting administrator of the state Office of Spill Prevention and Response, a division of the state Fish and Game Department.</p> <p>The settlement was filed in San Francisco County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4381 2012-05-14T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-15T16:24:33+00:00 <p>State regulators plan to swing through Bakersfield Wednesday as part of a statewide listening tour that could shape new rules for the contentious and increasingly common oil field practice also known as hydraulic fracturing.</p> <p>Set for 7 to 9 p.m. at the county Board of Supervisors chambers, 1115 Truxtun Ave., the public workshop is to open with an overview of California oil and gas production, as well as a discussion of the state's geology and existing regulations designed to protect underground sources of drinking water.</p> <p>After that, representatives of the state Department of Conservation plan to accept public comment. The same process is being followed in Culver City, Long Beach, Sacramento, Salinas, Santa Maria and Ventura.</p> <p>The department is undertaking the effort at the urging of environmentalists and state lawmakers, who at a budget hearing earlier this spring expressed concern that California's existing rules may be insufficient to protect drinking water. Elsewhere in the United States, concerns have been raised that fracking could also trigger seismic activity.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/118 2012-05-12T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-12T18:27:16+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/957-small.jpg">Felicia Marcus (pictured here),&nbsp;western director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and&nbsp;Steven Moore,&nbsp;a civil and sanitary engineer at Nute Engineering, have been&nbsp;appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board.</p> <p><a href="http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17538" target="_blank">Learn more.</a></p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4377 2012-05-11T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-11T16:47:51+00:00 <p>The Santa Cruz City Council’s intention to ensure ample water is much appreciated.</p> <p>However, engineers have identified options trouncing desalination: less expensive, more energy-efficient, triple lifetimes, keeping lots more money circulating locally.</p> <p>The facts below show there’s far more water than we need; our actual water problem is the lack of infrastructure to store enough winter river water — our major source — to boost the health of our fish populations and aquifers, while seeing us comfortably through summers and occasional droughts.</p> <p>Let’s simply call the proposed desal plant’s annual capacity “one desal,” or 2,790 acre-feet. The San Lorenzo River’s average yearly output is 34 desals. Including nearby streams we average 44 desals — 44 times the desalination plant capacity!</p> <p>Net water use upstream is negligible because septic and irrigation systems eventually return water underground to the rivers. The Santa Cruz Water Department diverts only four desals for human use. So 90 percent of our 44 desals escape us.</p> <p>We’re in a wet climate. Local mountaintop average annual rainfall comes up to your chin, literally. Our problem isn’t shortage, it’s storage. Santa Cruz Water Department Director Bill Kocher said that another Loch Lomond [the three-desals reservoir near Zayante] would solve the problem.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4379 2012-05-11T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-11T16:56:39+00:00 <p>As it has done in the past three years, the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) recently issued an order lowering minimum flow requirements in the Russian River this summer, according to the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA).</p> <p>Slowing the velocity of water during the summer improves conditions for young steelhead that live in the Russian River before migrating to the ocean. Lower flows may also assist with managing the Russian River Estuary, an important nursery for young steelhead, as a perched lagoon during the summer months.</p> <p>"Storms in March and April, and even the light rain we enjoyed Thursday, mean that there is plenty of water in the creeks and streams that flow into the Russian River," said Pam Jeane, assistant general manager of operations for the SCWA. "Currently, the water agency isn't controlling the majority of the flow, so it could be several weeks before we see these minimum flow levels."</p> <p>The agency also reports that the state board included several requirements for water quality and fisheries monitoring and water conservation measures, and those include:</p> <p>The order requires monitoring of threatened steelhead and Chinook salmon and endangered coho salmon and consultations every two weeks with California Department of Fish and Game and National Marine Fisheries Service regarding potential fishery issues. A water quality monitoring plan must be prepared and monitoring efforts must be evaluated.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4375 2012-05-11T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-11T16:31:55+00:00 <p>State officials today announced that an ambitious and controversial plan to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will be delayed.</p> <p>A draft of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, and its accompanying environmental studies, was expected to be released by the end of June. But on Friday, state Natural Resources Secretary John Laird announced in a letter posted on the plan's website that this schedule will not be met.</p> <p>The letter, dated Thursday and addressed to Deputy U.S. Interior Secretary David Hayes, did not directly explain the reasons for the delay. Laird wrote cryptically that "we will soon be able to announce some significant adjustments in the overall program that will reflect our commitment to using the best science."</p> <p>Asked if this means the project is being significantly revised, agency spokesman Richard Stapler was noncommittal.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4378 2012-05-10T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-11T16:54:37+00:00 <p>Tiny but mighty mussels pose a threat to freshwater ecosystems, and Humboldt County is partnering with other Northern California entities to help educate people about the invasive critters.</p> <p>The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on May 1 approved signing an agreement with various water agencies in Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin counties to help fund an education and management program to mitigate the impacts of zebra and Quagga mussels. The non-native European mussels reproduce quickly and can easily be spread by boaters, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.</p> <p>First District Supervisor Jimmy Smith said the mussels are detrimental to the waterways they infest.</p> <p>”They displace habitat, food resources and they plug up some of the major water conveyance systems,” Smith said.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4376 2012-05-10T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-11T16:38:04+00:00 <p>Under pressure from state lawmakers and environmentalists, Gov. Jerry Brown's administration has agreed to write regulations for one controversial oil extraction method and reexamine rules for another that led to a worker's death last year.</p> <p>The administration is seeking money in the next state budget to regulate the booming oil industry and assuage public concern over hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking."</p> <p>Officials plan to develop rules that would ensure the integrity of oil wells and establish reporting requirements for operators that inject chemical-laced water and sand deep into the ground to tap oil, according to a California Department of Conservation document released this week.</p> <p>California does not require oil companies to disclose where they use the procedure or what chemicals they inject into the ground. Other states have imposed moratoriums and drawn up rules after toxic chemicals were discovered in drinking water near fracking operations.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/117 2012-05-03T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T23:00:35+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/955-small.jpg">A new study by researchers with the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-04/uosc-feo042612.php" target="_blank">USC Sea Grant Program</a>&nbsp;finds that toxic metal concentrations have declined significantly in Southern California coastal waters since passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972. The researchers concluded that improvements in sewage treatment mandated by the Clean Water Act led to a 400-fold decrease in copper and cadmium.</p> <p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0503-clean-beaches-20120503,0,1659006.story" target="_blank">Learn more.</a></p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Article/4372 2012-05-02T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-02T20:09:31+00:00 <p>The Siskiyou County Farm Bureau’s lawsuit against the California Department of Fish and Game’s (CDFG) 1602 permitting process will go to trial next week in the Siskiyou County Superior Court.</p> <p>At 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Superior Court Judge Karen Dixon will begin hearing pretrial motions. The full trial will begin on Tuesday at 9 a.m.</p> <p>At issue is section 1602 of the California Fish and Game Code – Lake and Streambed Alteration Program – which CDFG says requires irrigators to obtain permits for their surface water diversions.</p> <p>The 1602 section of the code became law in 1961 and irrigators say that it has never been applied to the simple act of diverting water. Instead, agriculturalists say the code has historically only applied to alterations of the actual streambed such as gravel mining, push-up dams and the installation of new headgates.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/44 2012-04-30T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T15:19:34+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/950-medium.jpg">Water conservation has allowed California’s major urban&nbsp;centers to maintain the same level of water use for decades, despite&nbsp;significant growth.&nbsp; To address future&nbsp;demand, water managers have a range of existing options available that do not&nbsp;involve building costly and environmentally damaging desalination plants or&nbsp;building large water infrastructure projects. &nbsp;CCKA, along with the Sierra Club and other&nbsp;partners, recently hosted a legislative briefing&nbsp;in Sacramento to educate&nbsp;policy makers on&nbsp;<a href="http://cacoastkeeper.org/document/sustainable-water-strategies-factsheet-(April-2012).pdf" target="_blank">sustainable water strategies</a>&nbsp;that can meet future&nbsp;demand, create jobs and conserve energy while improving the environment.</p> <p>The experts presented a range of strategies that are available to water managers, including conservation practices,&nbsp;water reuse innovations and rainwater capture. For example, California’s&nbsp;residential sector uses almost 4 million acre-feet annually, yet approximately&nbsp;1.4 million acre-feet of this use could be saved through water conservation&nbsp;strategies that use existing cost-effective technologies.&nbsp; Additionally, stormwater capture in urbanized&nbsp;areas has the potential to increase local water supplies by up to 405,000&nbsp;acre-feet of water per year by 2030. This volume represents roughly two-thirds&nbsp;of the volume of water used by the entire City of Los Angeles each year. <em>This&nbsp;</em><em>briefing was sponsored as part of the&nbsp;<a href="http://protectcalifornia.org/" target="_blank">Protect California Campaign</a>.</em></p> <p><a href="http://cacoastkeeper.org/document/sustainable-water-strategies-factsheet-(April-2012).pdf" target="_blank">Read more...</a></p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/116 2012-04-30T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:46+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/954-small.jpg">The California Coastkeeper Alliance has submitted comments and/or provided testimony on 18 proposed bills in the California Legislature. Key bills include weakening how the State Water Board protects clean water, promoting cost-effective sustainable water strategies and supporting funding for cleaning oiled wildlife. You can learn how your voice can be heard and about the specific legislation being debated on our&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/programs/people-and-government/legislative-tracker" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(71, 162, 197); " target="_parent">Legislative Tracker webpage</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/43 2012-04-25T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T15:31:30+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/948-thumb.jpg"><em>Santa Monica Baykeeper Liz Crosson shares her views on how&nbsp;</em>the Clean Water Act has helped to clean up our rivers, lakes, and ocean,&nbsp;and how you can help your&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/waterkeepers/california-waterkeepers" target="_parent">local Waterkeeper</a>&nbsp;work to ensure swimmable, drinkable&nbsp;and fishable waters are the right of every American.<br /> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><em>By Liz Crosson, April 25</em> - Forty years ago our nation's waterways had become a dumping ground for trash, sewage, oil, and chemicals. A small but powerful network of groups and individuals have used the&nbsp;<a href="http://water.epa.gov/action/cleanwater40c/" target="_blank">Clean Water Act</a>&nbsp;to take on powerful corporate and government polluters, and in doing so, have brought our rivers, streams, lakes, bays and ocean back from the brink.&nbsp;Despite the water quality improvements won by the Clean Water Act, there is still considerable work to be done to achieve the act's fishable, swimmable, drinkable goal. Many&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/programs/mapping-initiative/ca-polluted-water-maps" target="_parent">California lakes, rivers, and beaches</a>&nbsp;are plagued by excess contamination stemming from urban runoff and other more diffuse sources of pollution.&nbsp;Last year in California -- a state often heralded as an environmental leader -- the State Water Resources Control Board found a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.epa.gov/region9/mediacenter/impaired-waters/trends.html" target="_blank">170 percent</a>&nbsp;<em>increase</em>&nbsp;in toxicity in rivers, lakes, bays and estuaries since 2006.&nbsp;</p><img class="right" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/949-medium.jpg"><p class="MsoNormal">Here in Los Angeles, we have had our fair share of victories for clean water over the years. In fact, just last week,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.smbaykeeper.org/" target="_blank">Santa Monica Baykeeper</a>&nbsp;and Natural Resources Defense Council reached a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/news/malibu-beach-water-quality-to-improve-under-new-agreement" target="_parent">$6.6 million settlement</a>&nbsp;to significantly improve beachwater quality along the Malibu coastline for millions of beachgoers who visit each year.&nbsp;The settlement requires the city to install devices to catch toxic stormwater runoff before it reaches the ocean, thus protecting swimmers from a range of waterborne illnesses including stomach flu, dysentery, hepatitis, neurological disorders, skin rashes and other serious health problems.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-crosson/clean-water-act_b_1450322.html" target="_blank">Read more...</a></p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/42 2012-04-10T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/945-small.jpg">April marks the beginning of an important period in California's 2012 legislative session. Legislative committees are holding hearings on legislation that affects California's waters, coast and aquatic habitats.&nbsp;You can learn how your voice can be heard and about the specific legislation being debated on our&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/programs/people-and-government/legislative-tracker" style="color: rgb(71, 162, 197); text-decoration: none; " target="_parent">Legislative Tracker webpage</a>.&nbsp;You can also stay informed on the latest legislative updates through CCKA's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cacoastkeeper" style="color: rgb(71, 162, 197); text-decoration: none; " target="_blank">Facebook&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/CAWaterkeepers" style="color: rgb(71, 162, 197); text-decoration: none; " target="_blank">Twitter</a>&nbsp;pages.</p> <p>To date, the California Coastkeeper Alliance has submitted comments and/or provided testimony on 18 proposed bills. Examples include:</p> <p><a href="http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_1066&amp;sess=CUR&amp;house=B&amp;author=lieu" target="_blank">SB 1066</a>&nbsp;would require the California Coastal Conservancy to undertake projects that address climate change (CCKA supports);<br /> <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_1192&amp;sess=CUR&amp;house=B&amp;author=evans" target="_blank">SB 1192</a>&nbsp;would permit moneys from the state's oil spill prevention fund to fund costs incurred by the Oiled Wildlife Care Network&nbsp;(CCKA supports);<br /> <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_591&amp;sess=CUR&amp;house=B&amp;author=wieckowski" target="_blank">AB 591&nbsp;</a>would require public disclosure of most chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing but 'trade secrets' could be withheld (position TBD);<br /> <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1701-1750/ab_1750_cfa_20120423_121144_asm_comm.html" target="_parent">AB 1750</a>&nbsp;would authorize landowners to operate rain barrel systems&nbsp;(CCKA supports);<br /> <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_2101-2150/ab_2117_cfa_20120423_142006_asm_comm.html" target="_blank">AB 2117</a>&nbsp;would prohibit the adoption of new storm water pollution standards until 2015&nbsp;(CCKA opposes); and<br /> <a href="http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_2595&amp;sess=CUR&amp;house=B" target="_blank">AB 2595</a>&nbsp;would streamline the permitting process for seawater desalination facilities (CCKA opposes).</p> <p>View all the bills we are tracking on our&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/programs/people-and-government/legislative-tracker" target="_parent">Legislative Tracker webpage</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;More hearings will be happening in the coming weeks so please check back&nbsp;for the most up-to-date information. You can view hearings live or archived through the California&nbsp;<a href="http://senate.ca.gov/committees" target="_blank">Senate</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://assembly.ca.gov/committees" target="_blank">Assembly</a>&nbsp;committee websites.&nbsp;</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/115 2012-04-02T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:46+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/937-small.jpg" alt="undefined"><a href="http://www.sbck.org/" target="_blank">Santa Barbara Channel-keeper</a>&nbsp;has settled a $26 million lawsuit with City&nbsp;of Santa Barbara to keep sewage out of creeks and beaches. The settlement&nbsp;agreement commits the City to a rigorous program to upgrade its aging sewer&nbsp;system. In 2009, Santa Barbara’s sewage spill rate was triple the California&nbsp;average.&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.sbck.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=117&amp;Itemid=51" target="_blank">Learn more.</a></p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/41 2012-03-22T21:48:23+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/936-small.jpg">The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/cwa.html" target="_blank">Clean Water Act</a>&nbsp;- one of our nation’s key pieces of environmental legislation - allows millions of American’s to reclaim our nation’s waterways and make them safe for swimming, drinking, and fishing. Sadly, the Clean Water Act is currently under attack.</p> <p>The U.S. House of Representatives has spent this year - ironically, the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.waterkeeper.org/ht/d/ContentDetails/i/24055" target="_blank">40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act</a>&nbsp;- relentlessly trying to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and our environmental laws. They are taking direct aim at the Clean Water Act and seeking to strip the federal government’s authority to regulate water quality standards. They even want to weaken the EPA’s power to enforce the law and protect OUR communities!</p> <p>One particularly egregious example&nbsp;<a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/mwu/pesticide_industry_bill_would.html" target="_blank">exempts from the Clean Water Act pesticide applications in and around public waters</a>.&nbsp;This bill has passed the House and is now pending in the US Senate. To celebrate&nbsp;<a href="http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/" target="_blank">World Water Day</a>, please join California Coastkeeper Alliance in&nbsp;<a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-congress-access-to-clean-drinking-water-is-a-basic-human-right" target="_blank">signing a petition to tell Congress</a>&nbsp;that access to clean drinking water is a basic human right!</p> <p><a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-congress-access-to-clean-drinking-water-is-a-basic-human-right" target="_blank">Sign the petition.</a></p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/114 2012-03-21T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:46+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/935-small.jpg">Good news on the public health front. The company that makes methyl iodide, a dangerous fumigant currently approved for use in California, has announced that they will cease U.S. production immediately. CCKA, along with a number of other organizations,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/document/protect-california-communities-and-ecosystems-from-methyl-iodide.pdf" target="_blank">advocated</a>&nbsp;last year against using this dangerous chemical. The company said its decision was based on the "economic viability in the U.S. marketplace." Thank you to all who spoke out on this issue.</p> <p><a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/document/protect-california-communities-and-ecosystems-from-methyl-iodide.pdf" target="_blank">Learn more.</a></p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/40 2012-03-16T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/930-small.jpg">Please join us in <a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/take-action/speak-out/17 " style="color: rgb(71, 162, 197); text-decoration: underline; " target="_parent">asking Senator Feinstein</a>&nbsp;to restore the money for beach water testing in the federal budget.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to cut all federal funding for&nbsp;<a href="http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/beachgrants/" target="_blank">beach water quality monitoring</a>&nbsp;in 2013, putting all of us at risk from getting sick when we visit the beach. Just like health safety inspections for food, we rely on water quality monitoring and reporting to ensure that the water we swim, surf and play in is safe.&nbsp;</p> <p>Here in&nbsp;California, this funding supports vital state and county health agency testing&nbsp;for polluted water at California beaches. Without this funding, many beaches&nbsp;will go untested, leaving the public at risk of getting sick. The livelihoods of many local businesses that benefit from the more than $12 billion spent by beach&nbsp;visitors each year in California&nbsp;are also at risk.</p> <p><a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/take-action/speak-out/17 " target="_parent">Please ask Senator Feinstein</a>&nbsp;to restore the&nbsp;money for beach water testing in the federal budget.&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/take-action/speak-out/17 " target="_parent">Take Action.</a></p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/113 2012-03-16T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:47+00:00 <p><img alt="Credit: IITA Image Library" src="../../uploads/933-small.jpg" class="left">Thanks to the efforts of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.otterproject.org/site/pp.asp?c=8pIKIYMIG&amp;b=4136551">Monterey Coastkeeper</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.epicenteronline.org/">San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbck.org/">Santa Barbara Channelkeeper</a>, the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/rwqcb3/">Central Coast Regional Water Board</a> has approved a new rule to protect water quality from agricultural runoff.&nbsp; The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/03/14/1990049/at-slo-hearing-water-board-and.html#storylink=cpy">rule</a> takes a crucial first step to address agricultural impacts upon surface water, groundwater, and the public’s drinking supplies.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a target="_parent" href="../../programs/clean-abundant/severely-polluted-waters">Learn more</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/112 2012-03-14T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:47+00:00 <p><img alt="undefined" src="../../uploads/927-small.jpg" class="left"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.coastkeeper.org/">Orange County Coastkeeper</a> has appealed a decision by the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/rwqcb8/">Santa Ana Regional Water Board</a> to grant a permit for the proposed Poseidon-Huntington Beach Desalination plant. The <a target="_blank" href="../../../news/huntington-poseidon-ocean-desalination-decision-appealed-to-state-board">appeal</a> claims the Board failed to properly apply the law to protect marine life from the destructive impacts resulting from the operation of a desalination facility.</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/desalination">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/111 2012-02-27T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:47+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/925-small.jpg">The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/santaana/" target="_parent">Santa Ana&nbsp;Regional Water Quality Control Board&nbsp;</a>has approved a permit for&nbsp;<a href="http://www.coastkeeper.org/scrapyard/ " target="_blank">eliminating or treating&nbsp;polluted runoff</a>&nbsp;from large industrial scrapyards.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.coastkeeper.org/" target="_blank">Orange County Coastkeeper</a>&nbsp;worked with industry leaders to develop a permitting process because previous&nbsp;successful litigation cases had not adequately addressed the water quality&nbsp;problems industry wide.</p> <p><a href="http://www.coastkeeper.org/scrapyard/ " target="_parent">Learn more.</a></p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/39 2012-02-23T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img alt="Credit: Eutrophication&amp;Hypoxia" src="../../../uploads/921-small.jpg" class="left">California Coastkeeper Alliance (CCKA) is a strong supporter of advancing <a target="_blank" href="../../programs/clean-abundant/stormwater-runoff">stormwater</a> capture and reuse as a sustainable water supply strategy.&nbsp; The Southern California Water Committee recently released <a target="_blank" href="http://socalwater.org/images/SCWC_Stormwater_White_Paper__Case_Studies.Smaller.pdf">Stormwater Capture: Opportunities to Increase Water Supplies in Southern California</a>, a report concluding that California needs to move away from conveying stormwater off-site for flood control, and instead, increase stormwater capture and reuse to increase water supplies. The report also finds that Southern California’s water future will be shaped largely through the management of stormwater, a departure from historical practices of diverting water from the Colorado and Delta river systems.</p> <p>CCKA has advanced stormwater capture and reuse as a pollution control strategy within the State Water Board’s three statewide stormwater permits: <a target="_blank" href="../../document/industrial-general-permit-comment-letter.pdf">industrial stormwater permit</a>, <a target="_blank" href="../../document/comment-letter-%E2%80%93-caltrans-ms4-permit.pdf">CalTrans stormwater permit</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="../../document/comment-letter-on-the-ms4-phase-ii-general-permit.pdf">"Phase II" municipal stormwater permit</a> (for smaller municipalities).&nbsp; In 2012, CCKA is continuing to support the implementation of stormwater capture and reuse by supporting legislation like <a target="_blank" href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_0251-0300/ab_296_bill_20110621_amended_sen_v95.html">AB 296</a>, the Cool Pavements Act, and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1701-1750/ab_1750_bill_20120217_introduced.html">AB 1750</a>, the Rainwater Capture Act.&nbsp; CCKA is also advocating for the advancement of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/cwpu2009/index.cfm">integrated water management</a>, a policy promoting sustainable water supply strategies such as stormwater capture and reuse.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><a target="_parent" href="../../programs/clean-abundant/stormwater-runoff">Learn more</a>.&nbsp;</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/110 2012-02-13T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:47+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/919-small.jpg">CCKA is proud to announce Michael Murphy as CCKA’s new&nbsp;executive director. Michael has 17 years of experience in protected area&nbsp;advocacy, environmental policy and strategic communications. As a native&nbsp;Californian who grew up on the beach in Southern California, he has a strong&nbsp;commitment to protecting coastal and inland waterways.</p> <p><a href="http://www.cacoastkeeper.org/announcements/35" target="_parent">Learn more about Michael</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/38 2012-02-13T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/918-small.png" class="left">The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/cwa.html">Clean Water Act</a>&nbsp;was&nbsp;signed into law in 1972 by President Richard Nixon, setting our nation on a&nbsp;course to clean up its severely polluted waters. Much has been accomplished in&nbsp;the last 40 years to clean up many egregious pollution sources. However, a&nbsp;growing U.S. population coupled with persistent and emerging new pollutants threatens to derail the progress we’ve made. The&nbsp;Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently found that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://aquafornia.com/archives/55833">California waters exhibiting&nbsp;overall toxicity increased by 170 percent from 2006 to 2010</a>. Now is the&nbsp;time to take action.</p> <p>The&nbsp;Clean Water Act’s 40th anniversary this year affords a unique&nbsp;opportunity to focus attention on the importance of swimmable, drinkable and&nbsp;fishable waters to all Californians health and economic well-being. We are&nbsp;asking you to join us by participating in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://splashseries.org/events">Clean Water Action “SPLASH” Days</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;are taking place in across California as part of a national&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterkeeper.org/ht/d/ContentDetails/i/24055">Clean Water Act&nbsp;40 Campaign</a>. View this&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://vimeo.com/33562233">compelling short&nbsp;video</a>&nbsp;on how this vital law for protecting public health is under threat by&nbsp;Congress, what actions we are taking during the Clean Water Act 40 Campaign and&nbsp;most importantly, what you can do to make a difference. We will be posting&nbsp;information on specific events coming to your community in the coming months.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/109 2012-02-10T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:47+00:00 <p><img alt="Credit: Santa Barbara Channelkeeper" src="../../uploads/917-small.jpg" class="left">Due to CCKA’s continued advocacy, the EPA has <a target="_blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/10/epa-cruise-ship-sewage-discharge-ban_n_1267344.html">banned sewage discharges</a> from large vessels in California’s marine waters.&nbsp; Dozens of cruise ships make multiple California port calls each year while nearly 2,000 cargo ships make California port calls.&nbsp; The new rule will prohibit the discharge of over 22 million gallons of treated vessel sewage annually.</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../programs/clean-abundant/sewage-spills">Learn more</a>.<br /> &nbsp;</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/36 2012-02-10T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img alt="Credit: Mike Baird" src="../../../uploads/916-medium.jpg" class="left">What is an acceptable rate of illness for your family after a trip to the beach?&nbsp; A new proposal by the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.epa.gov/">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) finds 1 out of every 28 beachgoers is an acceptable rate of illness after a beach trip.&nbsp; Imagine the consequences if a restaurant allowed 1 out of every 28 customers to get sick.&nbsp; The illnesses the EPA finds acceptable to contract after swimming at the beach include vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea, a sure way to ruin anyone’s vacation.&nbsp;</p> <p><a target="_parent" href="../../../take-action/speak-out/16">Tell the EPA</a> to protect your family’s health by asking the EPA to accept responsibility for beachgoers’ health and safety.&nbsp; Californians have the most to lose from unsanitary beaches. We depend on clean water to sustain our coastal and tourist dependent economy. Annually, California’s beaches draw over 200 million visitors, resulting in $12 billion in revenue. Let’s work together to tell the EPA to keep our beaches clean and protect our families’ health. <a target="_blank" href="../../../take-action/speak-out/16">Click here</a> to tell the EPA how you feel about unsafe beaches.&nbsp;</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/clean-abundant/severely-polluted-waters">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/108 2012-02-07T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:47+00:00 <p><img alt="NOAA's National Ocean Service" src="../../uploads/912-small.jpg" class="left">On March 11, 2011, a powerful tsunami hit Japan, destroying the coast, and sending tons of debris out to sea.&nbsp; As ocean currents deliver the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thankyouocean.org/news/podcasts/">tsunami debris</a> to the California coast, CCKA is working with the State Water Board to develop a statewide <a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/trash/">Trash Policy</a> to minimize California’s contribution to the already problematic marine debris crisis.</p> <p><a target="_parent" href="../../programs/clean-abundant/plastic-pollution">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/107 2012-01-25T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:47+00:00 <p><img alt="undefined" src="../../uploads/909-small.jpg" class="left">Thanks to <a target="_blank" href="http://baykeeper.org/">San Francisco Baykeeper</a>, the Bay Area is pursuing a dramatic reduction in sewage spills, minimizing health risks and pollution in the Bay. Baykeeper has <a target="_blank" href="http://baykeeper.org/blog/west-bay-agrees-curb-sewage-spills-bay">forced </a>20 cities in the region to invest millions of dollars to replace miles of old pipes, which have spilled a staggering 17.5 million gallons of raw sewage.&nbsp;</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../programs/clean-abundant/sewage-spills">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/34 2012-01-17T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img class="left" src="http://cacoastkeeper.org:80/uploads/914-small.jpg" alt="Flooded road in Sausalito">On February 6-8, some of the year’s highest tides hit California shorelines,&nbsp;providing a glimpse of what the state can expect as sea levels rise in the&nbsp;coming years. These “king tides” – as the highest winter tides are called – have been captured by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/cakingtides" target="_blank">citizen imagery</a>&nbsp;through the&nbsp;<a href="http://californiakingtides.org/" target="_blank">California King Tides Initiative</a>. The California Ocean Protection Council estimates more than one&nbsp;foot of sea level rise by 2050 and four to five feet by 2100 along the&nbsp;California coast.</p> <p>View recent photos from&nbsp;<a href="http://californiakingtides.org/view-king-tide-images/20112012-season/" target="_parent">Dec. 2011 - Feb. 2012</a>&nbsp;king tides and&nbsp;<a href="http://californiakingtides.org/view-king-tide-images/previous-seasons-2010-2011/" target="_parent">previous years&nbsp;</a>to see how higher sea levels will be impacting our coastal communities in the future.&nbsp;Watch a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thankyouocean.org/news/podcasts/" target="_blank">Thank You Ocean podcast</a>&nbsp;on CCKA’s work with its initiative partners, the California Coastal Commission and NOAA Coastal Services.&nbsp;And, follow the Initiative on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/californiakingtides" target="_blank">Facebook </a>and <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CA_king_tides" target="_blank">Twitter</a> to stay up to date!</p> <p><a href="../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/climate-change" target="_parent">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/35 2012-01-17T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img alt="undefined" src="../../uploads/907-medium.jpg" class="left">The <a target="_blank" href="../../../about/board">Board of Directors</a> of California Coastkeeper Alliance is proud to announce that on January 23, 2012, Michael Murphy will take the lead as CCKA’s new executive director.&nbsp; Michael takes the reins during a critical time in California’s environmental history.&nbsp; As the state endeavors to implement key resource protection initiatives such as the State Water Board’s policy on <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/power-plants-otc">coastal power plants</a>, a <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/clean-abundant/plastic-pollution">statewide trash policy</a>, and a network of <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/MLPA">underwater parks</a>, California is simultaneously struggling to deal with its precarious financial situation.&nbsp; With CCKA’s expertise in <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/ocean-law-and-policy">law and policy</a> for clean water and healthy coastal ecosystems, CCKA and California’s <a target="_blank" href="../../../waterkeepers">12 local Waterkeeper organizations</a> are poised to protect and strengthen environmental laws at this critical juncture.</p> <p>Michael has 17 years of experience in protected area advocacy, environmental policy and strategic communications.&nbsp; As a native Californian who grew up on the beach in Southern California, he has a strong commitment to protecting coastal and inland waterways.&nbsp; Michael Murphy’s career has focused on communicating science to policy makers and the public, and empowering affected stakeholder groups to be involved in the management process.&nbsp; Before joining the Alliance, Michael was the communications and outreach director at <a target="_blank" href="http://woods.stanford.edu/">Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment</a>.&nbsp; His work at the Institute focused on infusing Stanford science into environmental policy making.&nbsp; Prior to joining Stanford in 2008, Michael worked for 14 years for the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA) in Washington D.C.</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../../about/staff">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/106 2012-01-12T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:48+00:00 <p><img alt="Credit: Alejandro Fallabrino, Proyecto Karumbe" src="../../../uploads/906-small.jpg" class="left">Due to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.epicenteronline.org/">San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper's</a> dedication to reducing plastic pollution, the SLO Single-Use Bag Ordinance was approved.&nbsp; Of all <a target="_blank" href="../../../document/plastic-debris-in-the-california-marine-ecosystem.pdf">plastic pollution</a> in the ocean, 12.5 million tons come from disposable packaging such as plastic bags.&nbsp; Thanks to the Coastkeeper’s efforts, the bag ordinance will cover every city in SLO County beginning October 1st, 2012. <br /> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a target="_blank" href="../../programs/clean-abundant/plastic-pollution">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/104 2012-01-03T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:48+00:00 <p><img alt="undefined" src="../../../uploads/904-small.jpg" class="left">The new <a target="_blank" href="http://waterkeeper.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/24476">Waterkeeper Magazine</a> is here!&nbsp; The edition focuses on the attack by Congress to strip the federal government’s authority to regulate water quality standards and weaken the enforcement abilities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.&nbsp; The amazing success story of <a target="_blank" href="http://pugetsoundkeeper.org/">Puget Soundkeeper</a> underscores the Act’s enormous value, particularly its provision for citizen action.</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/ocean-law-and-policy">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Spotlight/105 2012-01-03T12:00:00+00:00 2012-05-03T22:45:48+00:00 <p><img alt="undefined" src="../../uploads/905-small.jpg" class="left">California’s abalone species are in trouble.&nbsp; In 2011, federal officials designated <a target="_blank" href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/10/black-abalone-critical-habitat-california-coast-endangered-species-.html">140 square miles of critical habitat</a> for the endangered black abalone along the California coast.&nbsp; Thankfully, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.coastkeeper.org/">Orange County Coastkeeper</a> is actively working towards restoring abalone by monitoring existing abalone populations and collecting tissue samples for genetic testing.&nbsp; Continue to monitor Orange County Coastkeeper’s progress <a target="_blank" href="http://www.coastkeeper.org/abalone/">here</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/MLPA">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/33 2011-12-13T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img alt="undefined" src="../../uploads/902-medium.jpg" class="left">California Coastkeeper Alliance (CCKA) is working with state government agencies to create innovative new tools to empower Californians to better understand and take action to mitigate pollution and emerging <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/climate-change">climate change-driven stressors</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>As a founding member of the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/mywaterquality/monitoring_council/">Water Quality Monitoring Council</a>, CCKA works to ensure that the public has access to information about the health and quality of California’s, coast, ocean, and freshwater resources.&nbsp; CCKA has worked with the Council to develop a series of web “portals” where citizens can get answers to questions such as “<a target="_blank" href="http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/mywaterquality/safe_to_eat/index.shtml">Is my shellfish safe to eat?</a>” and “<a target="_blank" href="http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/mywaterquality/safe_to_swim/">Is it safe to swim in our waters?</a>” A new portal in 2012 will answer one of the most critical public health and safety questions: “Is out water safe to drink?”&nbsp; CCKA also created a series of maps, including a map of all the <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/mapping-initiative/ca-polluted-water-maps">severely polluted waterways</a> throughout California and two maps identifying groundwater basins contaminated with <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/mapping-initiative/nitrates-in-groundwater-maps">nitrate </a>and <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/mapping-initiative/arsenic-in-groundwater-maps">arsenic</a>.</p> <p>New tools also forecast how climate change is impacting California’s freshwater and marine resources. An interactive Google Earth tour titled, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8JtoednlbY&amp;feature=youtu.be">Wrong Climate for Damming Rivers</a>, aims to teach people how damming rivers around the world can exacerbate climate change.&nbsp; Dams limit flows to downstream rivers, resulting in warmer water and severe impacts to species such as salmon that depend on cold flows.&nbsp; A California specific tool, <a target="_blank" href="http://cal-adapt.org/page/about-caladapt/">Cal-Adapt</a>, was designed to provide access to data on how climate change might affect California at the local level. CCKA is working to ensure that the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/">State Water Board</a> takes action to protect rivers flows from excessive withdrawals, over-diversion from dams and climate change, and to ensure that all of California’s inland and coastal waters are resilient to climate-driven changes.</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/climate-change">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/22 2011-11-21T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img alt="undefined" src="../../uploads/703-medium.jpg" class="left">California Coastkeeper Alliance (CCKA) and its network of California Waterkeepers enjoyed a number of hard-fought victories for our coastal and inland waterways in the <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/people-and-government/legislative-tracker">2011 Legislative Session</a>.&nbsp; The Governor signed <a target="_blank" href="http://baykeeper.org/">San Francisco Baykeeper’s</a> Assembly Bill 1112 (Huffman) into law. The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1101-1150/ab_1112_bill_20111008_chaptered.html">bill</a> will protect the marine environment from oil spills by requiring state agencies to better monitor and inspect the highest risk of marine oil transfers.&nbsp; AB 1112 also gives the state the authority to increase oil fees to ensure that critical <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/clean-abundant/oil-spills">oil spill prevention</a> programs are fully funded.&nbsp; CCKA joined a diverse coalition of animal rights groups, environmentalists and anglers to support <a target="_blank" href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_0351-0400/ab_376_bill_20111007_chaptered.html">Assembly Bill 376</a> (Fong), which will help end the cruel practice of shark finning by prohibiting the sale, possession, or trade of shark fins in California. The Governor’s signature of AB 376 will have international implications on the health of shark populations, because California is one of the largest markets for shark fins outside of Asia and the largest importer of shark fins in the nation.&nbsp;</p> <p>Unfortunately, CCKA and other environmental groups had to also spend considerable energy beating back bills proposed to weaken or rollback California’s environmental laws.&nbsp; One such bill, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0851-0900/sb_900_bill_20110509_amended_sen_v97.html">SB 900</a>, was proposed at the eleventh hour of the legislative session and would have weakened conflict of interest rules at the Regional Water Boards.&nbsp; CCKA led a coalition of environmental justice and conservation groups to successfully ensure that the proposal was abandoned. For a more in-depth discussion on the 2011 Legislative Session, check out the California League of Conservation Voters' <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ecovote.org/sites/default/files/Scorecard-2011-FINAL-web.pdf">2011 California Environmental Scorecard</a> including the best and worst legislation of 2011 and an environmental evaluation of California’s Governor, Senate, and Assembly.&nbsp; CCKA advocated for many environmental bills highlighted in the Scorecard through support letters, legislative testimony, website action alerts, and coordinating direct communication between local <a target="_blank" href="../../../waterkeepers/california-waterkeepers">Waterkeepers</a> and their <a target="_blank" href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html">local representatives</a>.&nbsp; As the 2012 legislation session approaches, CCKA is developing legislative initiatives to ensure clean, abundant water and healthy marine habitats for every Californian.</p> <p><a target="_parent" href="../../programs/people-and-government/legislative-tracker">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/32 2011-10-05T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img alt="undefined" src="../../uploads/880-medium.jpg" class="left">California Coastkeeper Alliance (CCKA) supports the development of sustainable, localized low energy water supplies in order to address California’s ever-growing need for freshwater.&nbsp; Ocean desalination facilities, however, require massive amounts of capital and <a target="_blank" href="../../../document/drops-of-energy.pdf">energy </a>and should only be considered after all water conservation and reuse strategies have been employed to make use of existing supplies.&nbsp; The operation of a desalination facility also incurs a high environmental cost.&nbsp; Many desalination facilities propose to use the same pipes as <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/power-plants-otc">once-through cooled</a> (OTC) power plants.&nbsp; OTC is a World War II era technology that sucks in billions of gallons of water and marine life to cool power plant operations.&nbsp; The use of the technology is currently being phased-out in California, but if desalination facilities use the same pipes, the harm could continue.&nbsp;&nbsp; Additionally, desalination facilities discharge concentrated brine into sensitive marine habitats.&nbsp; <a target="_blank" href="../../../document/brine-panel-comment-letter.pdf">Brine discharge</a> has twice the salinity of natural seawater, contains chemical toxins, and has a lower pH value further exacerbating <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/climate-change">acidification</a>.</p> <p>Several ocean desalination facilities in California have obtained the necessary regulatory permits to begin desalinating water in the absence of statewide guidance on how to adequately protect the coast and ocean from facilities’ impacts.&nbsp; The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/">State Water Board</a> recognizes this regulatory gap, and will soon begin the development of a statewide <a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/ocean/desalination/#studies">desalination policy</a>.&nbsp; Public meetings regarding desalination facilities will begin in December 2011, and will continue throughout 2012.&nbsp; CCKA is working with a coast-wide coalition of groups to ensure that the State Water Board adopts a strong, protective desalination policy by the end of next year.&nbsp; CCKA will continue to update the public regarding <a target="_blank" href="../../../take-action">opportunities for action</a>, and will ensure that coastal community voices are heard during the development of the desalination policy.</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/desalination">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/31 2011-09-02T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img alt="undefined" src="../../uploads/866-medium.jpg" class="left">September 17, 2011 was the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/ccd/ccd.html">27th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day</a>, the State’s largest volunteer event.&nbsp; Last year, more than 80 thousand volunteers collected over 1.2 million pounds of trash from California beaches, lakes, and waterways.&nbsp; Volunteers were asked to support the mission of the event to eliminating waste by bringing reusable gloves, bags and other supplies.&nbsp; More than 800 cleanup events took place this year, including some put on by our Waterkeepers in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cleanupday.org/">San Diego</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/61632326?access_key=key-16yu38n3qc1rzpyotfnl">Santa Monica</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ecoslo.org/">San Luis Obispo</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>California Coastal Cleanup Day is important because California's coast and waterways accumulate vast amounts of trash and debris.&nbsp; Unfortunately, even thousands of hard-working Cleanup volunteers cannot end the growing problem of plastic pollution.&nbsp; California’s laws and policies need to better address the sources of trash, and control the discharge of trash into our waterways.&nbsp; The California Legislature is currently considering <a target="_blank" href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0551-0600/sb_568_bill_20110712_amended_asm_v95.html">SB 568</a>, a bill that would dramatically reduce trash on our beaches by banning the use of polystyrene food take-out containers.&nbsp; Help <a target="_blank" href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2155/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6303">support the bill here</a>.&nbsp; The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/">State Water Board</a> is also developing a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/trash/index.shtml">Statewide Policy for Trash Control</a> that will identify trash as a pollutant and establish methods to reduce trash in California’s waterways.&nbsp; CCKA is working with the State Board to adopt an effective Trash Policy as a member of the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/trash/pag.shtml">Public Advisory Group</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../programs/clean-abundant/plastic-pollution">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance tag:live.cacoastkeeper.org,2009:Announcement/30 2011-08-17T12:00:00+00:00 2012-04-30T05:09:43+00:00 <p><img alt="undefined" src="../../uploads/857-medium.jpg" class="left">The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.opc.ca.gov/">California Ocean Protection Council (OPC)</a> was created to guide state agencies' management and protection of the state's coastal and ocean resources.&nbsp; To further its mission of protecting ocean resources, OPC has released its <a target="_blank" href="http://www.opc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/docs/Documents_Page/Strategic%20PLan/OPC_DRAFT_Strategic_Plan_110801_for%20public%20review.pdf">Draft Five-Year Strategic Action Plan</a> for ocean and coastal protection.&nbsp; The Draft Plan was developed with input from relevant California state agencies and technical experts.&nbsp; Four substantive areas are the focus of the OPC for the coming five years: 1) <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/climate-change">climate change</a>, 2) <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/MLPA">sustainable fisheries and marine ecosystems</a>, 3) coastal and ocean <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/clean-abundant/stormwater-runoff">impacts from land</a>, and 4) <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/power-plants-otc">industrial uses</a> of the ocean.&nbsp; The Draft Plan also identifies sharing of scientific information to support ocean governance and management as a key OPC goal going forward.&nbsp;</p> <p>The OPC has closed its public review period on the Draft Plan. CCKA, in coordination with a coalition of environmental organizations, submitted two comment letters for the OPC's review.&nbsp; The <a target="_blank" href="../../../document/comments-on-the-opc-draft-strategic-plan.pdf">first letter</a> actively pushes the OPC to craft a Strategic Plan that defines a role for the OPC as an advocate for the ocean, and a leader in its protection and restoration – rather than solely a support system for existing agency initiatives.&nbsp; The <a target="_blank" href="../../../document/Comments.pdf">second letter</a>, which was echoed by over 1,100 public letters, urges the OPC to immediately undertake work to protect our ocean and coast from improperly located and designed <a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/desalination">ocean desalination facilities</a>.</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="../../../programs/healthy-marine-habitats/ocean-law-and-policy">Learn more</a>.</p> California Coastkeeper Alliance